Machine tools in a bed arrangement have so far been preferred for machining heavy workpieces because the work table rests on the rigid machine bed. The required vertical motion is produced by the headstock which is guided on the upright column that is either rigidly mounted on the bed or is mounted so that it can move in one axis. The work table can be designed as a compound table or as a revolving table or turntable, and it can rest on wide rigid tracks of the bed, which thus yields a high dynamic strength and rigidity. The known machining centers with a bed design are mostly designed according to principles that have also been used by traditional machine tools that are only partially automated. Although a complete degree of automation has been achieved on existing machining centers through appropriate control systems using tool magazines with automatic tool changing and workpiece pallets, these known machining centers are limited owing to their basic technical concept in rapid and universal machining of workpieces which can be attributed to relatively long tool-changing times or workpiece-changing times, or both, to the problem of removal of chips and cuttings which has not been solved optimally, and also to inaccuracies caused by thermal expansion or vibration, among others.